[22] Ibid.， 270. - The pretension of reforming men's sentiments is found in all the programs. Ibid.， 305. (Report of Saint-Just， February 26， 1794.) "Our object is to create an order of things establishing a universal inclination toward the good， and to have factions immediately hurled upon the scaffold." Ibid.， 337. (Report of Saint-Just， March 13， 1794." - Ibid.， 337. (Report of Saint-Just， March 13， 1794.) "We see but one way of arresting the evil， and that is to convert the revolution into a civil power and wage war on every species of perversity， as designedly created amongst us for the enervation of the republic."[23] Ibid.， XXXV.， 276. (Institutions， by Saint-Just. - Ibid.， 287.)- Moniteur， XVIII.， 343. Meeting of the Jacobin Club， Brumaire 13， year II.， speech by Baudot.
[24] Buchez et Roux， XXIX， 142. (Speech by Jean Bon St. André in the Convention， Sep. 25， 1793.) "We are said to exercise arbitrary power， we are charged with being despots. We， despots！ . . . Ah， no doubt， if despotism is to secure the triumph of liberty， such a despotism is political regeneration." (Applause.) - Ibid， XXXI.， 276.
(Report by Robespierre， Pluviose 17， year， II.) "It has been said that terror is the incentive of despotic government. Does yours， then， resemble despotism？ Yes， as the sword which flashes in the hands of the heroes of liberty， resembles that with which the satellites of tyranny are armed..... The government of the Revolution is the despotism of freedom against tyranny."[25] Ibid.， XXXII， 353. Decree of April 1791. "The Convention declares， that， supported by the virtues of the French people， it will insure the triumph of the democratic revolution and show no pity in punishing its enemies."[26] In the following portrayal of the ancient régime， the bombast and credulity of the day overflows in the most extravagant exaggerations (Buchez et Roux， XXXI.， 300， Report， by Saint-Just， February 26， 1794.)： "In 1788， Louis XVI. Caused eight thousand persons of both sexes and of every age to be sacrificed in the rue Meslay and on the Pont-Neuf. These scenes were repeated by the court on the Champs de Mars； the court had hangings in the prisons， and the bodies of the drowned found in the Seine were its victims. These were four hundred thousand prisoners in confinement； fifteen thousand smugglers were hung in a year， and three thousand men were broken on the wheel； there were more prisoners in Paris than there are now . . . Look at Europe. There are four millions of people shut up in Europe whose shrieks are never heard." - Ibid.， XXIV.， 132. (Speech by Robespierre， May 10， 1793). "Up to this time the art of governing has simply consisted in the art of stripping and subduing the masses for the benefit of the few， and legislation， the mode of reducing these outrages to a system."[27] Buchez et Roux， XXXII.， 353. (Report by Robespierre to the Convention， May 7， 1794.) "Nature tells us that man is born for freedom while the experience of man for centuries shows him a slave.
His rights are written in his heart and history records his humiliation."[28] Ibid.， 372. "Priests are to morality what charlatans are to medical practice. How different is the God of nature from the God of the priests！ I know of nothing which is so much like atheism as the religions they have manufactured." Already， in the Constituent Assembly， Robespierre wanted to prevent the father from endowing a child. "You have done nothing for liberty if yours laws do not tend to diminish by mild and effective means the inequality of fortunes."(Hamel， I.， 403.)[29] Decree of Frimaire 18， year II. - Note the restrictions： "The convention， in the foregoing arrangement， has no idea of derogating from any law or precaution for public safety against refractory or turbulent priests， or against those who might attempt to abuse the pretext of religion in order to compromise the cause of liberty. Nor does it mean to disapprove of what has thus far been done by virtue of the ordinances of representatives of the people， nor to furnish anybody with a pretext for unsettling patriotism and relaxing the energy of public spirit."[30] Decrees of May 27， and August 26， 1792， March 18， April 21 and October 20， 1793， April 11， and May 11， 1794. - Add (Moniteur， XIX.， 697) the decree providing for the confiscation of the possessions of ecclesiastics "who have voluntarily left or been so reported， who are retired as old or inform， or who have preferred transportation to retirement." - Ibid.， XVIII.， 492， (session of Frimaire 2). A speech by Forester. "As to the priesthood， its continuation has become a disgrace and even a crime." - Archives Nationales， AF. II.， 36. (An order by Lequinio， representative of the people of Charante-Inférieur， la Vendée and Deux-Sèvres， Saintes， Nivose 1， year II.) "In order that freedom of worship may exist in full plenitude it is forbidden to all whom it may concern to preach or write in favor of any form of worship or religious opinion whatsoever." And especially "it is expressly forbidden to any former minister， belonging to any religious sect whatever， to preach， write or teach morality under penalty of being regarded as a suspect and， as such， immediately put under arrest. .
. . Every man who undertakes to preach any religious precepts whatsoever is， by that fact， culpable before the people. He violates . . . social equality， which does not permit the individual to publicly raise his ideal pretensions above those of his neighbor."[31] Ludofic Sciout， "Histoire de la Constitution Civile du clergé，"vols. III. and IV.， passim. - Jules Sauzay， "Histoire de la persécution révolutionaire dans le Doubs，" vols. III.， IV.， V.， and VI.， particularly the list， at the end of the work， of those deported， guillotined， sent into the interior and imprisoned.